IELTS Insight Notes

IELTS
Insight
Candidates Notes
These notes contain practice materials and advice for candidates taking the
IELTS exam. Lots more is available at
www.takeielts.org/
and
www.ieltspractice.com
The United Kingdoms international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
British Council (Singapore) Limited is incorporated in Singapore (UEN 201202363R) and registered as a charity.
Speaking
The complete test lasts between 11 and 14 minutes
PART
Nature of Interaction
Timing
Introduction and interview
4 5 minutes
After introductions and identity check, the

examiner asks you questions about familiar
topics.
2
Long turn
3 4 minutes
You receive a task card with a topic. You then

have 1 minute to prepare and make notes before
speaking about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes.
3
Discussion
4 5 minutes
You and the examiner discuss more abstract

aspects of the topic in Part 2.
Now watch a video of a complete interview. Make notes about how the examiner introduces
him/herself, changes topic and indicates a move from one section to another.
What happens at the beginning of the interview?
What does the examiner say to introduce each part of the test.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
What topics does he ask the candidate questions about in

parts 2 & 3?
part 1
What does he say at the beginning of each new topic in part 1?
Writing
Task 1 General Training
Task 1 is a letter in which you need to request or give information and/or explain a problem.
The minimum number of words is 150. Make sure you dont write less than this you will
lose marks.
Dont take more than 20 minutes.
Important points the examiner will be checking for:
Correct tone informal for friend; semi-formal / neutral if writing to an organisation
Clear purpose why you are writing (I am writing to.)
Fully addressed bullet points
Example
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
You live in a room in college which you share with another student. However,
there are many problems with this arrangement and you find it very difficult to
work.
Write a letter to the accommodation officer at the college. In the letter
describe the situation.
explain your problems and why it is difficult to work
say what kind of accommodation you would prefer
Write at least 150 words.
You do NOT need to write any addresses.
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear Sir or Madam,
A possible answer
Dear Sir or Madam

I currently reside in the college halls of residence and I am writing to request a change of
accommodation.
At the moment I share with xxxxxxxx. Although he and I get on well as people, we have very
different sleeping and studying habits. He works best at night and often studies til 3 or 4am.
Of course he has the light on and eats, both of which disturb my sleep. I, on the other hand
prefer to wake up at the break of dawn and study before going into college. After two weeks
of this arrangement, I find that I am constantly tired as a result of not being able to sleep well
and this in turn is adversely affecting my studies.
I feel that I would only be able to study well if I have a single room and do not have to share.
Given these extenuating circumstances, I would be grateful if you could arrange this for me.
I apologise for any inconvenience that this will cause you and I look forward to hearing from
you soon with some good news
Yours faithfully,
John Pears
( 182 words )
Task 1 - Academic
In Task 1 you are asked to describe facts or figures presented in one or more charts, graphs
or tables; or you may be given a diagram of a machine, a device or a process and asked to
explain how it works.
The minimum number of words is 150. Make sure you dont write less than this you will
lose marks.
Dont take more than 20 minutes.
Be careful about the period of time covered in the diagram (do you need past or present
tenses?).
Use a variety of structures (when presenting information it is easy to get repetitive in the
phrases you use)
A Strategy
Here is a simple but effective approach
Write one sentence which says what the graph(s) show(s) (but avoid repeating the
exact words in the question).
Explain in one or two sentences the overall trends/information shown. The examiner
expects to see this overview, if it is not there, you will lose marks.
Write about specific examples for the remainder of the answer, highlighting the main
features and look for opportunities to make comparisons and contrasts.
DONT explain every statistic/piece of information
DON'T interpret the information or suggest reasons for it.
From your answer, a reader should be able to draw an approximation to the original
diagram.
Look at the example on the next page
Example

The chart below shows the number of men and women in further education in
Britain in three periods and whether they were studying fulltime
or part time.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and
make comparisons where relevant.
Use the following sample answer to reconstruct an approximation of the original. Notice that not all
the data is given, use the comparisons in the answer to fill in the gaps.
Sample answer for Task 1, question 1

The diagram illustrates how many male and female full and part time students there were in
the UK in 1985, 1995 and 2005.
Overall, it is clear that there were always considerably more part time students than full time
and that, despite some fluctuation in the number of men taking part time courses, there was
a general upward trend in the total number of students.
In 1985, around 100,000 men were in full time education, whereas the figure was only half of
that for women. In the following ten years, there was a surge in the number of female full
time students and the figure exceeded that of men. In 2005, both figures were similar, having
increased to approximately 200,000.
The number of men attending part time courses started around one million but dipped by just
under 20% in the subsequent decade, before rising slightly by 2005. On the other hand, the
figure for women was below 800,000 in 1985 but grew significantly over the next 20 years,
finishing much higher than the level for men.
10
11
How close was your graph to the original?
This is only one type of Task 1 question. You should look at other question types, in the
Cambridge IELTS books for example.
12
Task 2 General Training & Academic

The Task
In Task 2 you are given a point of view, an opinion or a situation to discuss
The minimum number of words is 250. Make sure you dont write less than this you
will lose marks for under length answers.
This question carries 66% of the marks for writing if you score a lower score on the
Task 2 answer, it will pull down your overall score, so make sure you 40 minutes on Task
2.
What is the examiner looking for?

The examiner will be looking for an accurate, well-organised answer which shows a
sufficient range of ideas, vocabulary and sentence types. Your point of view should be
clearly expressed and your ideas should be developed in a sensible way with supporting
evidence. He/she is also looking for a complete answer to all parts of the question
A strategy
First
Read the question carefully so that you understand what the task requires. You need to
make sure you are answering the question relevantly and completely.
Then, before you start writing
Brainstorm ideas (this could be in the form of a mind-map or a simple list of pros and cons)
and organise them into paragraphs. (about 5 minutes)
After that
Write your introduction, followed by your main paragraphs and conclusion. Make sure each
paragraph has a central topic which you develop. (25 to 30 minutes).
At the end
Check your answer, looking in particular at accuracy, spelling, punctuation and whether the
content is relevant, clearly expressed and well organised (5 minutes).
13
Planning an example question

Write about the following topic.
Out of a countrys health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from
treatment to spending on health education and preventative measures.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or
experience.
An example answer
In my opinion, prevention is much better than cure. By this I mean that more money
needs to be spent on programmes to prevent major illnesses and to educate the
public on their dangers and how to avoid them.
There is a lot of ignorance about many common health problems, like heart disease
for example. Many of these could be prevented, or at least their instances radically
reduced, if more people were made aware of them through public education
programmes. This has already been proven in many countries. The UK, for instance,
has seen a remarkable decrease in the number of women dying from breast cancer
because public awareness is at its highest level ever. This has only been brought
about by a massive programme of public education.
Although I am very strongly in favour of spending money on such programmes, I do
not believe that the current health budget should suffer. The day to day treatment of
patients who are currently suffering is just as important. No, we must find the money
for this crucial cause elsewhere. At the moment our government spends billions of
dollars on weapons. If they diverted only a fraction of this into the health budget, we
would be much better off and the health of our nation would improve. Ultimately this
would result in a significant reduction in the amount needed to treat those whose
illnesses have not been prevented.
At the end of the day, whilst it is important to maintain the range of treatment
available to us, I firmly believe that the government also owes it to us to find the
money to implement programmes which keep us in good health.
(279 words)
14
15
16
Listening
Format
IELTS Listening has four sections, each with 10 questions. Each question is worth one
mark and answers appear in order in the listening passage. During the test, time is given
for you to read the questions and write down and check your answers. You write the
answers on the question paper as you listen. When the recording ends, you have ten
minutes to transfer your answers onto an answer sheet.
This table provides a summary of IELTS Listening.
SECTION
Topic
Area
Input
Main Skill Focus
Number
of
Questions
Social
needs
Conversation with a Listening for and

transactional
noting specific
purpose e.g. finding factual information
out about travel
services
10
Social
needs
Monologue or
prompted
monologue with a
transactional
purpose e.g. giving
information about a
public event
10
Education Discussion between

and
2 4 people in an
training
academic context,
e.g. tutorial or
seminar
Following a
10
conversation which
involves negotiation
of meaning.
Listening for specific
information,
attitudes, and
speakers' opinions
Education Monologue in an
and
academic context
training
e.g. lecture
Following an
10
academic argument.
Listening for main
ideas, specific
information, attitude
and speaker's
opinion
Listening for and

noting specific
factual information
You hear the recording once only and there will be a range of accents (British,
Australian, New Zealand and North American).
Now practise with two of the sections from a listening test.
Make sure you listen to the introduction carefully as it explains the situation.
18
19
20
21
Reading
The reading tests for Academic and General Training versions are different
although both last for 60 minutes.
Format
General Training
Academic
Three sections of increasing difficulty

and 40 questions.
Three passages and 40 questions.

The number of questions for each
passage varies.
Section 1 has 14 questions about 2 or

more short texts such as
advertisements. These are taken from
notices, advertisements, timetables,
publicity material and similar sources.
The passages are based on authentic

texts from magazines, journals, books
and newspapers. Passages may also
contain diagrams, graphs, illustrations
etc. The passages are written in a
variety of styles, for example narrative,
descriptive or
discursive/argumentative. At least one
of the passages will contain detailed
argument.
Section 2 has 13 questions, usually

about 2 texts. These are taken from
company handbooks, contracts,
workplace notices, office memos,
guidelines for employees and similar
sources.
Question types
Section 3 has 13 questions about 1

long text taken from newspapers,
magazines or journal articles, fictional
or non-fictional book extracts and
similar sources.
Type 1 Multiple Choice
Type 2 Multiple Matching
Type 3 Short-answer Questions
Type 4 Sentence Completion
Type 5 Notes/Table/Diagram/ Flowchart Completion
Type 6 Summary Completion
Type 7 Choosing Headings for
Paragraphs or Sections of a Text
Type 8 Locating Information
Type 9 Identification of Writers
Views, Claims or Information in the
Text
Type 10 Classification
Type 11 Matching
The total word count for the three

passages is between 2000 and 2750.
Type 1 Multiple Choice

Type 2 Short-answer Questions
Type 3 Sentence Completion
Type 4 Notes, Summary or
Table/Flow-chart Completion
Type 5 Labelling a Diagram
Type 6 Choosing Headings for
Paragraphs or Sections of a Text
Type 7 Locating Information
Type 8 Identification of Writers
Views/Claims or of Information in a
Text
Type 9 Classification
Type 10 Matching
General Training candidates need to do section 1 quite quickly. This gives you additional
time for the more difficult section 3.
On the next pages are some practice materials for both types of exam.
Section 1 - General Training
23
Questions 1 4
There are six job advertisements A F on the previous page.

Answer the questions below by writing the letters of the appropriate
advertisements.
Example
Which job is in a travel agents?
1)
2)
3)
4)
Which job is in a hotel?

Which job is for someone to look after a child?
Which TWO advertisements are for waiters?
Which TWO jobs would particularly like a German speaker?
24
Questions 11 14
Read the following notice.
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage answer the
questions below.
Fire Notice
In the event of fire, the ALARM will ring. On hearing the fire alarm, all those in the West
Wing should evacuate the building by staircase J. Rooms 1 to 199 are in the West Wing.
All others should use staircase A. The assembly area for occupants of the West Wing is
the staff car park at the rear of the building. All others assemble in the front courtyard.
Evacuate the building even if the alarm stops.
If you discover a fire, shout FIRE and operate the nearest fire alarm. Attack the fire with
an extinguisher but do not take any risks. Inform reception by dialling 3333.
Example
Where is room 1?
The West Wing
11) You are in room 101. Which staircase should you use to evacuate the
building?
12) You are in room 201. Where should you wait outside after evacuating the
building?
13) What should you do if the alarm stops?
14) Who should you contact if you discover a fire?
25
SECTION 2 General Training
Questions 15 27
Read the text below and answer Questions 15-20.
Advice for Employees

Safe computer use
Most people suffer no ill-effects from using VDUs (Visual Display Units) as they
dont give out harmful levels of radiation and rarely cause any kind of skin
complaint. If you do suffer ill-effects, it may be because of the way youre using
the computer and this can be avoided by well-designed workstations. When
working at a VDU, make sure you keep a good posture and that your eyes are
level with the screen.
Under health and safety regulations your employer should look at VDU
workstations, and reduce any risks by supplying any equipment considered
necessary (e.g. a wrist rest). They should also provide health and safety training.
This also applies if youre working at home as an employee and using a VDU for
a long period of time. There is no legal limit to how long you should work at a
VDU, but under health and safety regulations you have the right to breaks from
work using a VDU. This doesnt have to be a rest break, just a different type of
work. Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggests its better
to take frequent short breaks but if your job means spending long periods at a
VDU, for example as in the case of data input, then longer breaks from your
workstation should be introduced.
If youre disabled, your employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments for you
may mean that they will provide you with special computer equipment. You can
also get advice and maybe help with paying for equipment from the local job
centre.
Studies havent shown a link between VDU use and damage to eyesight, but if
you feel that using a VDU screen is making your eyes tired, tell your employee
safety representative. You have the right to a free eyesight test if you use a VDU
a lot during work hours. If youre prescribed glasses your company must pay for
them, provided theyre required in your job.
If you have any health problems you think may be caused by your VDU, contact
your line manager. He/she has a duty to consult you on health and safety issues
that affect you, and should welcome early reporting of any issue.
26
Questions 15 20
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 15-20 on your answer sheet.
15
It is unusual to get a as a result of using computers.
16
Employers may be required to provide you with items such as a to use

while at work.
17
If your job involves tasks such as , the advice from the HSE may not
apply.
18
Financial assistance in the case of special requirements may be available from

the .
19
The company is obliged to cover the cost of if you need them while
working.
20
Any concerns about the effect of using a VDU on your general well-being should
be reported to .
27
Read the text below and answer Questions 21-27.
Careers with Kiwi Air

Flight Attendants Recruitment and Training Process
Recruitment
The position of Flight Attendant is one of prestige and immense responsibility.
Recruitment is conducted according to operational demands and there can be
periods of up to 12 months where no new intake is required. However, applications
are always welcomed.
After you submit your initial application online, the Kiwi Air HR Services Team review
the details you have provided. Candidates whose details closely match the
requirements of the position are then contacted via email advising that their
application has progressed to the next stage of the recruitment process. Potential
candidates are then asked to attend a Walk-In Day. This could occur several weeks
or months after the original application has been submitted depending on current
needs.
The Walk-In Day consists of a brief presentation about the role and a short interview.
Candidates who are successful on the Walk-In Day are notified within 10 days and
invited to attend an Assessment Centre. Please note that candidates are required to
pass a swimming test before attending the Assessment Centre. At the Assessment
Centre, candidates attend an interview as well as participating in a number of
assessments. Verbal references are then requested, and candidates attend a
medical check.
At times, there may not be a need to recruit for Flight Attendant positions. However,
the company continuously maintains a recruitment pool of those who have
completed the Assessment Centre stage. These candidates are contacted when a
need for Flight Attendants is established, and attend a full interview before a decision
is made on whether to extend an offer of employment.
Due to the volume of applications received, Kiwi Air is not able to offer verbal
feedback to candidates at any stage of the recruitment process. Unsuccessful
candidates may reapply at any time after 12 months from the date at which their
applications are declined.
Training
Upon being offered a role as a trainee Flight Attendant, a 5-week training course is
undertaken at our Inflight Services Training Centre in Auckland. This covers
emergency procedures, customer care and service delivery, and equipment
knowledge. To successfully complete the course, high standards must be attained
and maintained in all subjects.
28
Questions 21 27
Complete the flowchart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21 -27 on your answer sheet.
Flight attendants of Kiwi Air Recruitment and Training Process
29
Section 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 2840 which are based on the
following passage.
The Rollfilm Revolution

The introduction of the dry plate process brought with it many advantages. Not only
was it much more convenient, so that the photographer no longer needed to
prepare his material in advance, but its so much greater sensitivity made possible a
new generation of cameras. Instantaneous exposures had been possible before,
but only with some difficulty and with special equipment and conditions. Now,
exposures short enough to permit the camera to be held in the hand were easily
achieved. As well as fitting shutters and viewfinders to their conventional stand
cameras, manufacturers began to construct smaller cameras intended specifically
for hand use.
One of the first designs to be published was Thomas Bolass Detective camera of 1881.
Externally a plain box, quite unlike the folding bellows camera typical of the period, it could
be used unobtrusively. The name caught on and, for the next decade or so, almost all
hand cameras were called Detectives. Many of the new designs in the 1880s were for
magazine cameras, in which a number of dry plates could be pre-loaded and changed
one after another following exposure. Although much more convenient than stand
cameras, still used by most serious workers, magazine plate cameras were heavy, and
required access to a darkroom for loading and processing the plates. This was all
changed by a young American bank clerk turned photographic manufacturer, George
Eastman, from Rochester, New York.
Eastman had begun to manufacture gelatine dry plates in 1880, being one of the first to
do so in America. He soon looked for ways of simplifying photography, believing that
many people were put off by the compilation and messiness. His first step was to develop,
with the camera manufacturer William H. Walker, a holder for a long roll of paper negative
film. This could be fitted to a standard plate camera and up to forty-eight exposures
made before reloading. The combined weight of the paper roll and the holder was far less
than the same number of glass plates in their light-tight wooden holders. Although rollholders had been made as early as the 1850s, none had been very successful because of
the limitations of the photographic materials then available. Eastmans rollable paper film
was sensitive and gave negatives of good quality; the Eastman-Walker roll-holder was a
great success.
The next step was to combine the roll-holder with a small hand camera; Eastmans first
design was patented with an employee, F.M. Cossitt, in 1886. It was not a success. Only
fifty Eastman detective cameras were made, and they were sold as a lot to a dealer in
1887; the cost was too high and the design too complicated. Eastman set about
developing a new model, which was launched in June 1888. It was a small box, containing
a roll of paper-based stripping film sufficient for 100 circular exposures 6 cm in diameter.
Its operation was simple: set the shutter by pulling a wire string; aim the camera using the
30
V line impression in the camera top; press the release button to activate the exposure;
and turn a special key to wind on the film. A hundred exposures had to be made, so it was
important to record each picture in the memorandum book provided, since there was no
exposure counter. Eastman gave his camera the invented name Kodak which was
easily pronounceable in most languages, and had two Ks which Eastman felt was a firm
uncompromising kind of letter.
The importance of Eastmans new roll-film camera was not that it was the first. There had
been several earlier cameras, notably the Stirn America, first demonstrated in the spring
of 1887 and on sale from early 1888. This also used a roll of negative paper, and had
such refinements as a reflecting viewfinder and an ingenious exposure marker. The real
significance of the first Kodak camera was that it was backed up by a developing and
printing service. Hitherto, virtually all photographers developed and printed their own
pictures. This required the facilities of a darkroom and the time and inclination to handle
the necessary chemicals, make the prints and so on. Eastman recognised that not
everyone had the resources or the desire to do this. When a customer had made a
hundred exposures in the Kodak camera, he sent it to Eastmans factory in Rochester (or
later in Harrow in England) where the film was unloaded, processed and printed, the
camera reloaded and returned to the owner. You Press the Button, We Do the Rest ran
Eastmans classic marketing slogan; photography had been brought to everyone.
Everyone, that is, who could afford $25 or five guineas for the camera and $10 or two
guineas for the developing and printing. A guinea ($5) was a weeks wages for many at
the time, so this simple camera cost the equivalent of hundreds of dollars today.
In 1889 an improved model with a new shutter design was introduced, and it was called
the No.2 Kodak camera. The paper-based stripping film was complicated to manipulate,
since the processed negative image had to be stripped from the paper base for printing.
At the end of 1889 Eastwood launched a new roll film on a celluloid base. Clear, tough,
transparent and flexible, the new film not only made the roll-film camera fully practical, but
provided the raw material for the introduction of cinematography a few years later. Other
larger models were introduced, including several folding versions, one of which took
pictures 21.6cm x 16.5cm in size. Other manufacturers in America and Europe introduced
cameras to take the Kodak roll-films, and other firms began to offer developing and
printing services for the benefit of the new breed of photographers.
By September 1889, over 5 000 Kodak cameras had been sold in the USA, and the
company was daily printing 6-7 000 negatives for processing: 900 Kodak users returned
their cameras for processing and reloading in the week after the New York centennial
celebration.
31
Questions 2831
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 2831 on your answer sheet write
YES
NO
NOT GIVEN
28.
29.
30.
31.
if the statement agrees with the writer

if the statement does not agree with the writer
if there is no information about this in the passage
Before the dry plate process short exposures could not be achieved.
Stirns America camera lacked Kodaks developing service.
The first Kodak film cost the equivalent of a weeks wages to develop.
Some of Eastmans 1891 range of cameras could be loaded in daylight.
Questions 3236
Complete the diagram below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the
passage for each answer.
Shutter
32
Questions 3740
Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage
for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 3740 on your answer sheet.
Year
Developments
1880
Manufacture of gelatine dry plates
Name of person/people
(37)
1881
Release of Detective camera
Thomas Bolas
The roll-holder combined with
Eastman and F.M. Cossitt
(38)
(39)
1889
Introduction of model with
Eastman
(40)...
33
General Training
Section 1
1) A
2) E
3) A AND F
4) B AND E
11) staircase J
12) front courtyard
13) evacuate the building
14) reception
Section 2
15) skin complaint
16) wrist rest
17) data input
18) (local) job centre
19) (your) glasses
20) your line manager
21) (initial) application(s)
22) Walk-In Day
23) swimming test
24) verbal references
25) recruitment pool
26) full interview
27)emergency
Academic and General Training

Passage 3
28) NO
29) YES
30) NO
31) NOT GIVEN
32) Wind on film
33) Wire string
34) Set (the) shutter
35) Memorandum book
36) Record each picture/exposure
37) (George) Eastman
38) 1886
39) (small) hand camera
40) new shutter (design)
34

IELTS Insight Notes

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

IELTS Insight Notes

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

IELTS

Introduction and interview

After introductions and identity check, the

You receive a task card with a topic. You then

You and the examiner discuss more abstract

What topics does he ask the candidate questions about in

What does he say at the beginning of each new topic in part 1?

Dear Sir or Madam,

Dear Sir or Madam

DONT explain every statistic/piece of information

DON'T interpret the information or suggest reasons for it.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Sample answer for Task 1, question 1

How close was your graph to the original?

Task 2 General Training & Academic

What is the examiner looking for?

Planning an example question

Main Skill Focus

Conversation with a Listening for and

Education Discussion between

Listening for and

Three sections of increasing difficulty

Three passages and 40 questions.

Section 1 has 14 questions about 2 or

The passages are based on authentic

Section 2 has 13 questions, usually

Section 3 has 13 questions about 1

The total word count for the three

Type 1 Multiple Choice

Section 1 - General Training

There are six job advertisements A F on the previous page.

Which job is in a hotel?

The West Wing

SECTION 2 General Training

Advice for Employees

It is unusual to get a as a result of using computers.

Employers may be required to provide you with items such as a to use

Financial assistance in the case of special requirements may be available from

Read the text below and answer Questions 21-27.

Careers with Kiwi Air

Flight attendants of Kiwi Air Recruitment and Training Process

The Rollfilm Revolution

if the statement agrees with the writer

Manufacture of gelatine dry plates

Release of Detective camera

The roll-holder combined with

Eastman and F.M. Cossitt

Introduction of model with

Academic and General Training

Anda mungkin juga menyukai